Electron beam sensor

1. A sensing device for sensing an electron beam comprising:

a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber; and

an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber for receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber, the intensity of the electron beam capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode.

2. The sensing device of claim 1 further comprising a measuring device electrically connected to the electrode for measuring effects of the electron beam on the electrode.

3. The sensing device of claim 2 in which the measuring device is connected to the electrode by a cable.

4. The sensing device of claim 3 in which the measuring device measures at least one of voltage and current.

5. The sensing device of claim 1 in which the electrode extends along an axis within the vacuum chamber with the electron permeable window being parallel to the axis of the electrode.

6. The sensing device of claim 5 in which the electrode extends from the vacuum chamber through an insulator for electrical connection to a cable.

7. A sensing device for sensing an electron beam comprising:

a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber;

an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber for receiving electrons entering the vacuum chamber, the electron permeable window being parallel to the axis of the electrode; and

a measuring device electrically connected to the electrode for measuring effects of the electron beam on the electrode, the intensity of the electron beam capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode.

8. The sensing device of claim 7 in which the measuring device is connected to the electrode by a cable.

9. The sensing device of claim 8 in which the measuring device measures at least one of voltage and current.

10. The sensing device of claim 7 in which the electrode extends from the vacuum chamber through an insulator for electrical connection to a cable.

11. A sensing device for sensing an electron beam accelerated by a voltage potential comprising:

a first sensing member for receiving electrons from the electron beam;

a second sensing member for receiving electrons from the electron beam, the second sensing member being arranged for receiving less electrons than the first sensing member, in which the sensing members each comprise a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber, and an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber for receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber, the intensity of the electron beam capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode of at least one of the sensing members; and

a measuring device electrically connected to the first and second sensing members for measuring effects of the electron beam on the first and second sensing members, the measuring device capable of correlating the measured effects of the first and second sensing members into at least one of electron beam intensity and the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

12. The sensing device of claim 11 in which the measuring device is electrically connected to each electrode of the sensing members with a respective cable.

13. The sensing device of claim 12 in which the measuring device measures at least one of voltage and current from the first and second sensing members.

14. The sensing device of claim 13 in which the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated can be determined from a ratio between the measured effects of the first and second sensing members.

15. The sensing device of claim 14 in which said ratio is matched with a matching stored data ratio originating from a library of stored data, the matching stored data ratio having an assigned voltage value corresponding to said voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

16. The sensing device of claim 11 further comprising:

third and fourth sensing members for receiving electrons from the electron beam, the fourth sensing member being arranged for receiving less electrons than the third sensing member, the measuring device being electrically connected to the third and fourth sensing members for measuring effects of the electron beam on the third and fourth sensing members and correlating the measured effects of the third and fourth sensing members into at least one of electron beam intensity and the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

17. A sensing device for sensing an electron beam comprising:

an array of sensing members each comprising a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber, and an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber for receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber, the intensity of the electron beam at a particular location capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode of the sensing member at said particular location.

18. A sensing device for sensing an electron beam comprising:

a generally cylindrical electrode for receiving electrons from the electron beam, the intensity of the electron beam capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode; and

an insulating layer covering the electrode for isolating the electrode from secondary electrical effects while at the same time allowing electrons from the electron beam to pass therethrough to the electrode.

19. A method of forming a sensing device for sensing an electron beam comprising:

forming a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber; and

extending an electrode within the vacuum chamber for receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber, the intensity of the electron beam capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising electrically connecting a measuring device to the electrode for measuring effects of the electron beam on the electrode.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising electrically connecting the measuring device to the electrode with a cable.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising forming the measuring device to measure at least one of voltage and current.

23. The method of claim 19 further comprising extending the electrode along an axis within the vacuum chamber with the electron permeable window being parallel to the axis of the electrode.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising extending the electrode from the vacuum chamber through an insulator for electrical connection to a cable.

25. A method of forming an sensing device for sensing an electron beam accelerated by a voltage potential comprising:

providing a first sensing member for receiving electrons from the electron beam;

providing a second sensing member for receiving electrons from the electron beam, the second sensing member being arranged for receiving less electrons than the first sensing member, in which the sensing members each comprise a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber, and an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber for receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber, the intensity of the electron beam capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode of at least one of the sensing members; and

electrically connecting a measuring device to the first and second sensing members for measuring effects of the electron beam on the first and second sensing members, the measuring device capable of correlating the measured effects of the first and second sensing members into at least one of electron beam intensity and the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising electrically connecting the measuring device to each electrode of the sensing members with a respective cable.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising forming the measuring device to measure at least one of voltage and current from the first and second sensing members.

28. The method of 27 further comprising forming the measuring device to determine the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated from a ratio between the measured effects of the first and second sensing members.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising matching said ratio with a matching stored data ratio originating from a library of stored data, the matching stored data ratio having an assigned voltage value corresponding to said voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

30. The method of claim 25 further comprising:

providing third and fourth sensing members for receiving electrons from the electron beam, the fourth sensing member being arranged for receiving less electrons than the third sensing member, the measuring device being electrically connected to the third and fourth sensing members for measuring effects of the electron beam on the third and fourth sensing members and correlating the measured effects of the third and fourth sensing members into at least one of electron beam intensity and the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

31. A method of forming a sensing device for sensing an electron beam comprising:

forming an array of sensing members each comprising a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber, and an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber for receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber, the intensity of the electron beam at a particular location capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode of the sensing member at said particular location.

32. A method of forming a sensing device for sensing an electron beam comprising:

providing a generally cylindrical electrode for receiving electrons from the electron beam, the intensity of the electron beam capable of being determined from the amount of electrons received by the electrode; and

covering the electrode with an insulating layer for isolating the electrode from secondary electrical effects while at the same time allowing electrons from the electron beam to pass therethrough to the electrode.

33. A method of sensing an electron beam comprising:

positioning a vacuum chamber of a sensing device within the electron beam, the vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber;

receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber with an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber; and

determining the intensity of the electron beam from the amount of electrons received by the electrode.

34. The method of claim 33 further comprising measuring effects of the electron beam on the electrode with a measuring device electrically connected to the electrode.

35. The method of claim 34 further comprising measuring at least one of voltage and current with the measuring device.

36. The method of claim 33 further comprising extending the electrode along an axis within the vacuum chamber with the electron permeable window being parallel to the axis of the electrode.

37. The method of claim 36 further extending the electrode from the vacuum chamber through an insulator for electrical connection to a cable.

38. A method of sensing an electron beam accelerated by a voltage potential comprising:

positioning a first sensing member within the electron beam for receiving electrons from the electron beam;

positioning a second sensing member within the electron beam for receiving electrons from the electron beam, the second sensing member being arranged for receiving less electrons than the first sensing member, in which each sensing member comprises a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber, and an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber for receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber; and

measuring effects of the electron beam on the first and second sensing members with a measuring device electrically connected to the first and second sensing members, the measuring device correlating the measured effects of the first and second sensing members into at least one of electron beam intensity and the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

39. The method of claim 38 further comprising determining the intensity of the electron beam from the amount of electrons received by the electrode of at least one of the sensing members.

40. The method of claim 39 further comprising measuring at least one of voltage and current from the first and second sensing members.

41. The method of claim 40 further comprising determining the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated from a ratio between the measured effects of the first and second sensing members.

42. The method of claim 41 comprising matching said ratio with a matching stored data ratio originating from a library of stored data, the matching stored data ratio having an assigned voltage value corresponding to said voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

43. The method of claim 38 further comprising:

positioning third and fourth sensing members within the electron beam for receiving electrons from the electron beam, the fourth sensing member being arranged for receiving less electrons than the third sensing member; and

measuring effects of the electron beam on the third and fourth sensing members with the measuring device and correlating the measured effects of the first and second sensing members into at least one of electron beam intensity and the voltage potential at which the electrons are accelerated.

44. A method of sensing an electron beam comprising:

positioning an array of sensing members within the electron beam, each sensing member comprising a vacuum chamber having an electron permeable window for allowing electrons from the electron beam to enter the vacuum chamber, and an electrode extending within the vacuum chamber for receiving at least a portion of the electrons entering the vacuum chamber; and

determining the intensity of the electron beam at a particular location from the amount of electrons received by the electrode of the sensing member at said particular location.

45. A method of sensing an electron beam comprising: positioning a generally cylindrical electrode within the electron beam for receiving electrons from the electron beam;

isolating the electrode from secondary electrical effects with an insulating layer covering the electrode which at the same time allows electrons from the electron beam to pass therethrough to the electrode; and

determining the intensity of the electron beam from the amount of electrons received by the electrode.